A charity’s board is its most important governance asset. But many charities fill vacancies reactively rather than proactively.
For company secretaries and chief executives, that needs to change. Boards should ask whether it has the right people, with the right skills, who are committed to the work.
Getting board composition right
Under the Board Effectiveness principle of the 2025 Charity Governance Code, the Code expects the board to work well together using an appropriate balance of skills, experience, backgrounds and knowledge, while reviewing its performance on a regular cycle and taking steps to improve.
In practice, it means regularly asking whether the board covers the knowledge your charity needs, including finance, legal, HR, safeguarding, sector expertise and lived experience, and being honest about where the gaps are. A skills matrix is the starting point.
But commitment matters just as much as competence. A trustee who brings exactly the right expertise but cannot regularly attend, engage with papers ahead of meetings, or give time between meetings to committees and subgroups will be a governance liability. Clarity about time expectations at the point of recruitment, and honest conversations when those expectations are not being met, is one of the most practical things a company secretary can put in place.
Why diversity matters for governance
The 2025 Code elevates equity, diversity and inclusion to a standalone principle, and expects boards to have a clear, agreed and effective approach to supporting EDI throughout the organisation, including in their own practice. This is a meaningful shift. Diversity of background, identity and lived experience is no longer treated as a nice-to-have sitting beneath a broader leadership principle. It has its own weight and its own expectations.
For boards, this means looking beyond whether trustees are technically qualified and asking whether the room reflects the communities the charity serves. Homogeneous boards, however well-intentioned, tend to produce narrower thinking, weaker challenge, and decisions that do not always land well with beneficiaries or funders. The Code’s focus on behaviours also makes clear that great boards do not just happen. They are carefully built as impactful teams that embrace diverse perspectives and continuous learning.
Genuine progress here requires a recruitment strategy. That means advertising trustee vacancies openly, partnering with organisations that can reach underrepresented communities, and reviewing whether your induction and onboarding processes make new trustees feel genuinely welcome or inadvertently push them towards conformity.
The role of board culture and behaviour
One of the most significant shifts in the 2025 Code is its greater emphasis on how boards operate in practice, not just what they have in place on paper. The Code places a stronger emphasis on behaviours, meaning how boards, chairs and trustees work in practice, rather than just structures.
This matters for composition because you can have a board with all the right skills and a diverse mix of backgrounds, but if the culture does not support honest debate, or if the chair does not actively draw out quieter trustees, the potential is never realised. Assessing board culture, through trustee surveys, independent facilitation, or peer review, should be as much a part of your effectiveness work as completing a skills audit.
The 2025 Code’s new Foundation principle also sets a baseline expectation that trustees understand their legal duties, commit to ongoing learning, prioritise the charity’s mission, and are well-informed and engaged in their roles. For company secretaries, that is a useful lever. Induction, ongoing development, and clear information flows are governance responsibilities.
Supporting structured board reviews with Convene Assure
Knowing what good board composition looks like is one thing. Having a consistent process to measure and evidence it is another.
Convene Assure gives charity boards a structured framework to conduct trustee skills assessments, track board development over time, and document evidence against governance standards including the Charity Governance Code. Rather than relying on informal conversations or spreadsheets that quickly go out of date, boards can build a clear, auditable picture of their composition, identify gaps early, and demonstrate good governance to funders, regulators and stakeholders.
For company secretaries managing governance calendars alongside competing priorities, Convene Assure brings the board effectiveness review process into one place, making it easier to stay on cycle and act on findings.
Book a demo to improve your board.
FAQs
What does the Charity Governance Code say about board composition?
Under the Board Effectiveness principle, the 2025 Charity Governance Code expects boards to use an appropriate balance of skills, experience, backgrounds and knowledge, and to review their performance on a regular cycle. It is a voluntary framework based on an apply-or-explain approach, but it is widely referenced by funders and the Charity Commission as a benchmark for good governance.
How often should a charity review its board skills and composition?
Most governance professionals recommend a formal skills review at least once a year, typically aligned to the annual governance calendar. This should be supported by a live skills matrix that informs trustee recruitment and succession planning rather than being completed as a one-off exercise.
How can Convene Assure support charity board effectiveness reviews?
Convene Assure gives charity boards a structured framework to carry out trustee skills assessments, track board development and document evidence against governance standards such as the Charity Governance Code. It brings the board effectiveness review process into one place, helping company secretaries stay on cycle, identify gaps early and demonstrate good governance to funders and regulators.
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